"Oh?" Chongzhen was very interested in Zheng Chenggong's thorough investigation of smuggling. "Why did Zheng Chenggong think of investigating smuggling?"

"It seems to be related to Gu Yanwu!" Jinyiwei Commander Li Ruolian replied: "Before the smuggling investigation, Gu Yanwu and Zheng Chenggong met."

"Gu Yanwu is quite capable. He knows how to drag Zheng Chenggong into this." Chongzhen praised him. "Since we are investigating smuggling, does he have any clues?"

"No! Although he investigated very strictly, he couldn't find anything because he had no clues!"

"Does Jinyiwei have any clues?"

"There were a few witnesses, but no physical evidence."

"Find a suitable opportunity to send these clues to Zheng Chenggong." Chongzhen smiled.

"Your Majesty, what you mean is... to use the opponent's force to counterattack?"

"Yes, as the war progresses, supplies are becoming more and more important to both sides! But if the court investigates smuggling, it will sooner or later find Zheng Zhilong, causing unnecessary trouble."

"So this matter cannot be handled by the court, but it will be fine if it is handed over to Zheng Chenggong. No matter what he finds out, it is a matter between them and their son, and has nothing to do with the court!"

"I will arrange it when I return."

"How is the investigation into the smuggling in Liaodong going?" Chongzhen asked again.

"It's not going very smoothly," Li Ruo Lian shook his head. "Due to the war, there is a no-man's land between the two armies, and they will conduct transactions and smuggling here."

"Even if the Jinyiwei had supernatural powers, they couldn't avoid the searches of the scouts from both sides, so they couldn't find any evidence."

"Doesn't the Ministry of War have a military register? The amount of food each person eats every day is known. Check the food consumption based on the number of people on the military register. If there is a big discrepancy, there must be a problem." Chongzhen said, extending his right index finger.

Li Ruo Lian continued to shake his head: "The military registers are provided by the generals of each army. It is well known that each army has falsely reported the number of soldiers. If 5,000 soldiers were falsely reported, then only the food for these 5,000 people would be sold during smuggling, and the problem would still not be found."

"What about checking the number of soldiers?" Chongzhen said and shook his head.

When two armies are fighting, there is no way to check the exact number of soldiers.

Because every soldier has his own mission and it is impossible for him to stay in the barracks all the time.

As long as someone moves, there is an opportunity for fraud.

"Is there no way to investigate smuggling?" Chongzhen raised his eyelids and looked at Li Ruolian again.

"Yes, but it's slow!" Li Ruolian replied, "We can bribe informants in the Liaodong Army as we did before. Once these informants are promoted, they will sooner or later get involved in smuggling."

"By then, we'll have both witnesses and physical evidence, and we can catch them all in one fell swoop!"

This method is not just slow, it is incredibly slow.

"Maybe I'm too old and can't think of a good solution." Chongzhen sighed and remembered the role of the Great Wall.

Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. They spent time, effort and money to build the ancient Great Wall for two purposes.

Military defense.

Economic blockade means preventing smuggling.

The Liaodong Great Wall is severely damaged, and smuggling is bound to be rampant.

We have to find a way to stop it.

He calculated in his mind and said, "Are the Khalkha Mongols going to go south for trade?"

"Yes, the Khalkha Mongols split into two groups for the purpose of trade. One group went to Yanghewei near Datong, Shanxi, and the other group went to Taipingbao near Yizhou, Liaodong."

Chongzhen nodded. Everything was in his plan.

To the north of Yizhou Taipingbao is the territory of the Khorchin tribe of Mongolia, and the Khalkha Mongols would inevitably pass through their territory when moving south.

There is a high possibility of conflict between the two sides.

No matter what the outcome, the Ming Dynasty will be the beneficiary.

Moreover, we can also take this opportunity to investigate smuggling.

"The Taipingbao trade is a big deal, and it must be handled well. Also, tell Prince Ding to have the Jinyiwei in Liaodong track down the final destination of these goods."

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty obeys your command." Li Ruolian responded somewhat bewilderedly.

In his opinion, the key to investigating smuggling is to find out who the seller is.

There is no practical significance in checking the buyer.

Because even if they knew who bought the goods, they would not tell who the seller was.

After all, the two sides are in a hostile relationship.

Chongzhen didn't think so.

Most of the goods smuggled from Liaodong fell into the hands of the Jiannu through the hands of the Mongols.

In other words, the Mongols were middlemen.

They know both who the buyers are and who the sellers are.

If we can deal with them, we will have mastered all the secrets of smuggling.

"Also," Chongzhen said, "if we send someone to spread the news about Li Dingguo's achievements, how many days will it take for it to spread throughout the capital? How long will it take for it to spread throughout the country?"

"I can guarantee that it will spread throughout the capital within three days and throughout the entire Ming Dynasty within three months."

"Then do it."

"I obey the order."

After leaving the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Li Ruo Lian immediately summoned the Embroidered Uniform Guards and began to promote the event.

First, the storyteller.

The history of storytellers is very long, dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

However, at that time, only the powerful and wealthy could listen to the books, while ordinary people had no chance to listen and could not afford to listen to them.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, storytellers appeared among the people.

In the Song Dynasty, storytelling became professionalized.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the number of storytellers grew explosively and they were widely sought after.

Inside the teahouse.

The storyteller sat on a chair, wearing a long gown and holding a wake-up stick in his hand.

Bang!

The wake-up stick fell on the table, attracting the audience's attention.

"The general went on the southern expedition with great courage, with an autumn-water goose-feather sword on his waist... On the day when Taiping attendant returns, I will take off my armor with you." After the storyteller finished reading the opening poem, cheers broke out in the teahouse.

"good!"

"Okay! Another one."

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